Category Archives: Cambodia

It is hard to believe that only a few weeks have gone by since my return from Asia; I am so completely into the swing of things at home in the Boston area. It is ALMOST as if I never left. I can just barely “touch” China (where I lived and travelled from September 2013 until the end of March 2014) and Vietnam and Cambodia (where I travelled afterwards). They are elusive memories. And yet, profoundly, as I was out and about yesterday a large group of Chinese walked past me. Suddenly, a familiar feeling marked me and tied me to my time in China – I had a pleasantly warm and physical sensation throughout my body. My brain reminded me that I did, in fact, have particular experiences at particular times.

I left China feeling indifferent to the place, or so I thought. Now, I find that I miss it. I never thought I would and yet I do… I cannot figure out what it is that I miss; it is completely intangible – especially since while I was there I had mixed feelings about the country itself. But I realise there is something intangible about life there that I wish I could put my finger on. No matter. China did get under my skin and into my heart. I may not recall all of it, and certainly not necessarily on demand, but my past makes me who I am, now. The reality is, I truly was there.

Below is a small sampling of the photographs I took during my final three weeks in China: Shaxi, Dali, Fujian Province.

Shaxi, Yunnan Province China:

Grandmother and Grandchild out for a Stroll, Shaxi, Yunnan, China

Shaxi Cultural Revolution Maoist Headquarters (“If the country wants to prosper and become strong then follow the birth plan” — jie hua shen yu : one child one couple)

This year I travelled through Phnom Penh, Koh Kong, Kampot, and Kampong Cham, Cambodia during the festive three-day Cambodian New Year (Chaul Chnam Thmei). As with many cultures around the world, holiday preparations begin a few days in advance. Family and friends visit and wish each other good fortune and health. Every household, restaurant, and store has an offering table covered with fruit, drinks, flowers, snacks, and incense. Traditionally, on the eve of the holiday, people eat lavish meals and burn incense and candles to welcome a new god and say farewell to the old god. Families take food to monks on the first day, children give money or clothing to their parents on the second day, and everyone takes rice offerings to their respective temples. On the third day and night, it is common to go to the temple to douse and bathe Buddha statues and each other; gifts,along with the fragrant water, are also offered to these Buddhas. Many Khmer return to their home provinces to celebrate and it is common for family and friends to gather and play traditional Khmer games.

Kampot Countryside

I found that Cambodia was fairly tranquil during this period, since most businesses and markets are closed for nearly a week (and sometimes even beyond). On my way to Kampot I experienced first-hand, from the front seat I shared with a driver and two other passengers, the phenomenon of jam-packed vans full of homeward-bound travellers who are squashed into the seats, riding on the roof, or literally hanging out the open back doors.

Cambodia’s landscape is beautiful, there are many magnificent temples and monuments to visit, and the people are warm and welcoming but it is still a country in the throes of development and recovery from the Khmer Rouge atrocities of the 1970s to 1990s (1999 is officially considered the end of the Khmer Rouge despite the fact that Pol Pot ruled and committed genocide in his country from 1975-1979). In fact, Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world which means life is difficult for the majority of Khmer. It can be emotionally difficult for a traveller to witness the level of poverty in this country. Yet tourism and the many foreign expats who live and work here give the country a much-needed boost.

Phnom Phenh

I believe that the money a tourist spends is very important at the individual community level in Cambodia. I can only hope that international aid allocates funding to local NGOs to help empower them to raise their own money and become self-sufficient. This seems to be the best way to help struggling and impoverished countries dig their way out from under.Sustainability should be the goal of any NGO, but apparently this is not always the case at the local level, where it counts. But there is an alternative – the social enterprise. According to the Social Enterprise Alliance:

Three characteristics distinguish a social enterprise from other types of businesses, nonprofits and government agencies:

It directly addresses an intractable social need and serves the common good, either through its products and services or through the number of disadvantaged people it employs.

Its commercial activity is a strong revenue driver, whether a significant earned income stream within a nonprofit’s mixed revenue portfolio, or a for profit enterprise.

The common good is its primary purpose, literally “baked into” the organization’s DNA, and trumping all others.

One example of a social enterprise that you can find in a number of places including the Phnom Penh and Siem Reap airports, is the long-establishedArtisans d’Angkor.Initially, it was was created with the assistance of the European Union. Its goal is to revive and promote into Cambodian craft by providing training to young people thereby improving their lives.

With all this said….

Phnom Penh:

Phnom Phenh

More than two years have passed since I was last Phnom Penh (PP) and it appears that little there has changed. Yes, prices have gone up, so I spent $5 more for the guesthouse I stayed in last time, and perhaps $0.50 -$1.00 more for other things. Wifi is everywhere – no more internet cafe for me. There are new high-rises and corporate buildings and more roads are paved. Despite the many motor bikes, tuk tuks, and bicycles on the streets, cars and trucks are now ubiquitous; there was actually traffic congestion when I left for Koh Kong at 8 a.m. and when I returned to PP after the holiday, midday traffic throughout the city was almost at a standstill.

Phnom Penh, Royal Palace

Despite being the capital city of Cambodia, PP has a frontier feel to it – it has a sense of both old and new. The streets are numbered but not necessarily in order, despite the fact that its roads are arranged predominantly in a grid system. Some buildings on streets lack numbers and others have the same number just half a block away (street names/numbers tend to jump about). PP is grungy in some areas, with just a few unpaved roads. Garbage abounds (in fact there is more on the street than two years ago; apparently, garbage pick-up is now the responsibility of a private company and they are not doing a very good job). The smaller markets are dark, maze-like, and teeming with life. Throngs of people sit on chairs, tables, or on the ground, and sell their produce at markets like the wet market near my hotel. The food literally spills onto the street and buyers and insects alike swarm the stalls. And yet… there are stylish hotels, shops, and restos just around the corner from these grittier areas. Corruption is still rampant in Cambodia as I’ve written in my post on Phnom Penh in 2012. Fortunately, there are many organisations trying to help eliminate this.

Phnom Phenh

I spent one day with a friend of a friend in PP; she picked me up and gave me a private tour of the city, taking me to some places I had seen before and many others (like Diamond Island, which appeared deserted but, I was told, livens up at night), I had not seen nor would have, had I not met her.

Phnom Phenh

PP is rougher around the edges than neighbouring countries/cities. Vietnam, Laos, China, and elsewhere have also all experienced ugly histories in the recent past. Yet here, like in Laos and Vietnam, people are resolute and are attempting to bounce back. Almost everyone is friendly. They try to eke out their living, although life is not easy. PP is a diamond in the rough. Compared to two years ago, there appears to now be an even richer appreciation, among the people of this city, of its cultural heritage. There is the contemporary dance theatre – New Cambodian Artists – that incorporates traditional aspects into its performances, and Java Arts, which exhibits contemporary visual arts. Theirs is a strong and complex culture that has experienced so much sorrow and yet has survived. It seems that PP is in transition (and has been for a number of years). I enjoy PP very much because it is so multifaceted; the people, for the most part, are amiable and admirable. The city has an intense pace yet is completely laid-back, is both contemporary and traditional, rural and urban.

Accommodation:

Fancy Guesthouse: This is a family-run and very simple guesthouse that is central to everything. The price has gone up since I last stayed here but I blame myself for writing such a rave review on Trip Advisor!

Tattoo Guesthouse: This is another family-run, simple guesthouse, for those on a tight budget. It is farther away from the centre of town but the prices can’t be beat and the staff are known to be helpful and friendly.

Kuy teav: A noodle soup with pork or beef, and rice vermicelli. It is topped with fried shallots, green onions, greens, and bean sprouts.

Bai sach chrouk: This is a typical pork and rice dish eaten for breakfast. The pork – sometimes marinated in garlic or coconut milk – is grilled slowly over charcoal. Fried scallion and/or green tomatoes and/or fresh cucumbers and/or a fried egg are served on top, along with a small plate of spicy pickled cucumbers and carrots. The typical way to eat it is with a spoonful of each, at the same time. The best place I have found is at the corner of streets 15 and 136.

Tip: As I mention above, there are many NGOs and social enterprises. Check online and in the guide books and support those that have cafes and restaurants, or goods to sell; your money can go a long way to help the people of this country.

Tatai River (Koh Kong)

Koh Kong, Taitai River

Koh Kong is the southwestern-most province of Cambodia, with a long, mostly undeveloped, coastline. The Cardamom mountains and rain forests cover this province, which makes the interior largely inaccessible. The main town is also named Koh Kong and is situated near the Thai border. It is small, with not much to attract people to it, but there are white sand beaches and opportunities for jungle treks nearby. I did not stay in Koh Kong. Instead, by chance and, as it happens, good fortune, I ended up at a costlier guesthouse than my allotted budget should have allowed, that was aptly named Tatai Riverfront Resort (note: do not consider staying at the Neptune Lodge– you can see my review on Trip Advisor under the title “First Bad Review.”). After one night at this lodge I was hooked. The staff was wonderful, the food excellent, and the world there, peaceful.

The Tatai River is clear and warm. The tidal waterway is a few hundred metres wide in most places and can go as deep as 20 metres. Where I stayed, the water is shallow with a very calm current and there was an island 30 metres or so away. The river alternates between salt and fresh water through the course of each day and season. Among the mangroves are little inlets which lead to the Cardamom mountains.

Koh Kong, Market

Koh Kong province is less developed than much of the rest of the country. I had the opportunity to visit the Tatai waterfall, where the water is very clear since the source is the Cardamom mountains. At night, fireflies gravitate to the star fruit (caramboia) trees in this area along the river to eat and do their thing – glow in the dark. It was the most beautiful sight as they flashed on and off, almost in unison. It actually felt as if I was watching a Disney movie, though Disney artists may well have gotten their glittery ideas from male fireflies who, according to the Huffington Post:

“show off” for the ladies of their own species. There are more than 2,000 species of firefly. A male firefly will light up its abdomen at a particular rate or wavelength, and when a female firefly sees a male from her own species shining in that particular way, she’ll respond with her own light. Hence baby fireflies are conceived.

Another reason fireflies glow (and this one not quite as romantic) is to lure prey. Some females will glow to lure a male to her and then — chomp! — he becomes dinner.

There was swimming and kayaking on the river, as well as jungle trekking opportunities. Each night at dusk, the sound and sight of fish leaping up out of the water entertained me. The din of frogs and cicadas was the first of many lovely sounds I heard at night. In the morning I woke up to the calls of birds, roosters, and geckos. Paradise, perhaps? Without mosquitoes, yes!

Kampot sits on the banks of the broad Preak Kampong Bay River and is surrounded by fishing villages, salt flats (once rice paddies), mountains, and tropical forests. Kampot pepper farms also skirt the town; this was once one of the biggest pepper-growing regions in the world, until the Khmer Rouge arrived. The pepper business is slowly rebuilding itself. Kampot is also the durian capital of Cambodia – a fruit many people are turned off by because of it’s turpentine smell. But oh! How heavenly the taste is – best described as a combination of banana and mango with the consistency of pastry cream.

Kampot is a fairly quiet city – especially during the Khmer New Year – with many run-down French colonial-era buildings, and a charm I cannot explain. There are a few bridges that cross the river including “The Old Bridge,” which is actually built of multiple styles/sections and has a very rusty, hole-y, metal road, so only motor bikes, cyclists, and pedestrians are allowed to cross it. I was told that it was destroyed by the Khmer Rouge and when it was rebuilt, well…. the varying styles came into play for some odd reason. Kampot is a good place to walk, go for coffee, wander through the market (an ordinary, cramped, indoor place for the locals to buy anything from clothing and food, to household goods, beauty products, and more – these markets, like all I have experienced in this part of the world, are an onslaught to the senses), or simply hang out by the river. On the surface, Kampot feels like a place one quickly stops through on the way to elsewhere, but after a few days you realise that it is somewhere you can really relax. The main thing that disquieted me about it was that people are not as friendly here as in other places I have visited in Cambodia. I do not know why this is and if any of you know (or have experiencedthis impression) – please comment.

Kampot, City Outskirts

Kampot Dogs at Rest: A Rare Site (Photograph courtesy of Stefan Baldesberger)

Kampot seems to have an inordinate number of foreign expats – particularly males, many who appeared to be in a stoned haze. Yet I did meet two lovely expat women – one teaches art at the Epic Arts Centre and the other is a psychiatrist and administrator at the Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital for Children. It was good to meet these two women since my feelings about the expats I saw hanging out were not positive.

I spent three days in Kampot. I wandered the area, taking photographs of some of the architectural “ruins;” wanderingthe outskirts of the city, along the railway and through countryside (warding off the notorious dog packs that initially made me freeze, until I found the courage to ignore them and just keep walking with conviction); visited the market, and more.

Kampot, Market

On one of these days I went up the winding, foggy road in Bokor Mountain National Park by motorbike, with a fellow traveller staying at my guesthouse. We wanted to see the new casino/hotel and the c1920 French ruins. Bokor Hill Station is a vestige of the past. It was originally built by the French, as a holiday resort, but was abandoned in the 1940s during the Indochine War. This building still stands empty (with many Khmer picnicking on the grounds and children running about inside). Solimex Group, the largest Cambodian real estate company, built the new casino and hotel nearby and is in the process of constructing luxury housing as well. They have also cleaned the exterior and interior of Bokor Hill Station so this once completely abandoned place no longer shows signs of the lichen and moss that covered it not long ago. I have read Somilex is planning to turn this building into a museum but that remains to be seen.

On this same road there is an abandoned, lichen covered, Romanesque-style Catholic church with its rusty cross standing tall. The inside is covered with both Khmer and English graffiti and religious artifacts have been added recently. Bullet holes are also visible (the story goes that the Vietnamese fought with the Khmer Rouge at this spot).

Kampot, Bokor Hill

Kampot, Bokor Hill

The road up/down the mountain gives you a chance to see the grand vista of the plateau and the Gulf of Thailand below. This park is a popular place among the Khmer, who often visit during the New Year to picnic, go to the temple at the top, to give their offerings, and listen to Buddhist sermons, and to just get away from the high temperatures and breathe cooler, moving air.

One morning I visited the salt flats just outside of Kampot but was not lucky enough to see anyone at work, since it was the holiday season. The flats were completely devoid of people and quite serene.

Kampot, Salt Flats

What I particularly liked about Kampot – what turned me on the most – was the run-down facade of the city‘s colonial architecture left by the French. The photos below say it all. This city of many decaying, formerly grand, buildings gives visitors a small window into what once must have been a flourishing colonial power. Kampot was one of the last regions for Khmer Rouge forces to take over because the Bokor Mountain stood in its way. And as it so happens, the Khmer Rouge did not leave Kampot until the late 1990s, after the rest of the country had already moved on.

Kampot

Kampot

Accommodation:

Auberge du Soleil: This is a new guesthouse, only open a couple of months, and run by a Swiss man who is in the process of turning the place around. He hopes it will be up to snuff by the next high season. He is very accommodating and is really trying to keep his handful of guesthouse clients, happy, as he does his resto/bar clients. At the moment he is juggling a lot but if his vision comes to fruition it will be a fantastic place.

Les Manguiers: I did not stay here because I wanted to be in the town of Kampot but this place was recommended and is not far outside the town.

Kampong Cham (I noticed this boy sitting in the hammock in the distance. I walked up to him and fell in love with his face. Here he looks so sad. I was so busy concentrating on getting a good shot of his face and the angles of the walls/hammock/floor that I did not notice his missing foot. After taking the photographs and showing them to him he became a happy kid. Every time I passed by his home, which was about 10-15 metre away from the road, he would jump up and down with such pleasure at seeing me and yell “hellooooooooo!!!!!” I would echo the same hello back and blow him a kiss with my hands. He responded accordingly. I had made a friend.)

Kampong Cham is a relatively small place that most visitors to this country tend to overlook. It is a fairly well-kept, tranquil town with few large, new, buildings. It houses a couple of markets, a few hotels, a small derelict fairground, and some restos, food stalls, and stands along the Mekong where locals gather in droves at night. There are many French colonial buildings and is a lovely place to explore as is the surrounding area. It is a large Buddhist centre as well as a Muslim one (the largest Muslim community in Cambodia lives here and the word “Cham” is the name of Cambodia’s Muslim minority group).

Kampong Cham, Woman

What I did in my 1.5 days in Kampong Cham:

Wandered the streets enjoying the town in 37C heat that finally got to me after three weeks of similar temperatures.

Traversed the Bamboo Bridge and explored Koh Paen Island: The bridge crosses the Mekong river to an island where there are many small Cham and Khmer villages with houses, typical of Cambodian countryside architecture, mounted on stilts. Crossing the bridge is thrilling because it gives the impression of being rickety and wobbly yet is sturdy enough to endure throngs of people, tuk tuks, and large motor vehicles. I can only imagine the rush of experience going over the bridge by bicycle… Every year this bridge is washed away during the rainy season and is rebuilt during the dry one.

Kampong Cham, Bamboo Bridge to Koh Paen Island

Nokor Wat: Remnants of this 11th century temple has Angkorian-like architecture. The more recent shrine is a Theravada Buddhist pagoda that is squeezed in between the oldest shrines. The original killing field in this area was between Phnom Proh and Phnom Sray (see below), just beyond Nokor Wat. Monks collected the bones after the Khmer Rouge regime and placed them in a building here. I read that there are wall paintings depicting torture and executions and, on another series of walls, scenes of the afterlife. Unfortunately I could not get into this building. There were no monks around and I barely saw a soul while I was there.

Kampong Cham, Nokor Wat

Phnom Pros and Phnom Sray: The names of these two temples translate to: “Man Hill’” and “Woman Hill.” Each has a pagoda and panoramic views of the countryside. Phnom Pros is filled with monkeys who, unfortunately, eat much of the garbage left by visitors. There is a memorial site for the victims of the Pol Pot regime, at Phnom Sray. A legend was recounted to me : A man and a woman were in a competition to build the tallest mountain at night before sunrise. They were doing this because, as is the Khmer custom, men must ask the parents for the hand in marriage of the woman he loves. Apparently one particular man wanted to challenge this tradition so suggested that he gather a team of men to build a mountain. The woman gathered together to build another. Whichever team built the tallest mountain would win. If the men won, he would not have to ask her parents for their daughter; if he lost, he would. While they worked into the night, the women built a fire with flames high enough for the men to see. Since these flames reached the sky the men thought it was sunrise and put their tools down to rest. While they stopped working the women continued working and won the competition. To this day, a man must still ask a woman’s parents for permission to marry her.

Kampong Cham, Phnom Pros

Kampong Cham, Phnom Sray

Kampong Cham, Phnom Pros (Baby on Board)

Except for the dogs that tend to know I am afraid of them (I was bitten by one in Laos), Kampong Cham is full of charm with seemingly very happy people who neither hassle nor ignore you. It was a very good way to end my travels in Cambodia.

Accommodation:

Leap Mong Kol Hotel (Kampuchea Krom Street. Very basic rooms and off the radar because it is “out of town” which means it is all of five minutes to the centre. Staff do not speak English.

Places to Eat:

Street Food everywhere

Smile Cafe (along the Mekong – this resto is run by a local NGO, Buddhism and Society Development Association (BSDA), and is “a training restaurant for orphans and vulnerable youth”)

Samaki Restaurant (right next to the Mekong and opened up by two graduates of the Smile Program. This resto supports local vocational training.

After a few long flights Steve and I made it to Siem Reap — home of Angkor Wat and Angkor beer. Immediately we discovered that the people are wonderful but the place is tourist central. We were lucky enough (and this was pure luck) to end up in a relatively quiet neighbourhood (Wat Bo) on a fairly quiet street. There were many guest houses but quiet, nonetheless. Siem Reap is filled with smoke from fires — we were being prepared for even more smoke, from slash and burn of brush in Laos in preparation of planting rice crops.

Tuk Tuk

Gate

The first of our two days we rented bicycles and rode the grand tour of Angkor Wat – about 20km. Steve kept repeating that it was hot. Steve said the food can be pretty good. Steve said the ruins are cool. But, believe it or not, we missed the actual Angkor Wat completely. We planned on touring it at the end of the day but after meandering through wats (temples) off the beaten path it was very difficult to even look toward Angkor Wat – all we could see were busloads of tourists (droves and droves). What we did see was: Ta Prohm, Tam So and a few of others a well.

Ta Phrom

Ta Som

The day after our ring tour we took a tuk tuk (a motor bike with an attached carriage for people to sit in) to Bung Mealea (60km away). It is a striking place of mostly ruins. In fact every historical site we saw in the greater Angkor Wat complex was ruins and un-restored (natch!). The ride there was a good (though fast) way of seeing rural Cambodian life. We passed many shacks with people selling corn, petrol, or baguettes. Cows were utterly skin and bones. As in Vietnam, everyone works very hard; the Cambodian way of life is not easy and the people are very poor. However, they are very friendly, in a reserved kind of way.

Selling Petrol

Children at Bung Melea

Bung Melea

Bung Melea

We discovered that there are a lot of cleared landmine signs throughout the countryside.

A good friend of mine who travelled Cambodia once said that everything in Cambodia is $1. Truer words could not have been spoken (almost). Everything, practically, costs a dollar. Water? $1. Caphe ta kwa (ice coffee)? $1. Children following you around? $1. Ten post cards? $1. Laundry? $1. The list goes on.

Our best meal in Cambodia was outside of Ta Prohm. We were the only falang (foreigners) there and had a great conversation with a tuk tuk driver eating there, too. We ate Khmer rice noodle and coconut soup with lots of chili peppers, green beans, and some unidentifiable green leaves. We had the most wonderful mango and coconut shakes to drink as well as coconut milk — a very common beverage in these parts. In contrast, in Siem Reap, itself, we had crappy Americanized fruit shakes that are watery and over-sweetened. And of course, in close to 100F heat we drank lots and lots of bottled water.

2012

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh

I headed up the river to the Cambodian/Vietnamese border via slow boat; once in Cambodia I took a bus to Phnom Penh. Just as the first time in Cambodia, two years prior, it was amazing for me to see the countryside and the way people live.

My first impressions of Phnom Penh (PP) — I wanted out.

Why? I first landed at the wrong youth hostel which was not bad but was already full so I had to go to the one I booked which was very bad – for me. This second hostel was full of hipsters, mostly, and the room and bathroom they put me in I (50-something in age) was shared with 7 young men each somewhere between the ages of 25-30. I went to bed at 11pm but, slowly and surely, one after the other came in to take a shower, go out, and party. The last one left just as I lay down to sleep.

Then: That night I realised that my stomach was a little off and the next morning I still did not feel well and needed to stay close to a bed and bathroom. After much angst (since I was trying to travel frugally) Steve convinced me to treat myself to the Fancy Guest House where Elton John stayed the first week it was open! The stay here proved necessary the first few days and was a lovely splurge, afterwards. This guesthouse is splendidly situated and the owner and his brother are sweet, helpful, and accommodating (no pun intended!!).

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh

The next day I felt a bit better but kept to rice for breakfast and baguette for lunch. I wandered the area and took photos for the first time since arriving in the city. I actually discovered a Bank of China and exchanged some US money into Chinese yuan. This was a fortuitous find since as I commented in my Vietnam (2012) post it is hard to cash for traveller’s cheques and I suspected that it might be even more difficult to exchange money at the small border crossing between rural Laos and rural China. Besides this bit of business I went to the National Museum, the Phnom Wat, and wandered into a few other wats – essentially walked in and out of wherever my feet and eyes took me.

The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields: This was a sobering day, recalling (my very vague memory of) Cambodia’s fairly recent war-torn history. It is impossible to imagine the reality Cambodians lived through while under the four-year rule (1975-1979) of Pol Pot (nearly two million Cambodians – about a fourth of the country’s population – were exterminated). S21 is a multi-building, three-story, compound that became one of the most notorious torture chamber before people were slaughtered in the Killing Fields. S21 was not the only facility of this sort but part of a larger organized system for killing. Approximately 17,000 prisoners were tortured at Tuol Sleng and died (or were executed in the Killing Fields). As it turned out many of those tortured and who died were actually Khmer Rouge themselves who were accused of betrayal. Most were ordinary Khmer citizens required to confess to crimes they did not know existed. Like the Nazis the Khmer Rouge documented everything. This similarity reminds us that we keep repeating history, not just Nazi Germany and Khmer Rouge Cambodia but more recently Rwanda, etc….

I haven’t mentioned it but PP is full of contradictions. There is incredible poverty here and yet you see people being driven and let out of their fancy SUV Lexus’ by guards. Apparently in the mid-2000s PP was one of the most corrupt cities in the world (perhaps the most corrupt? I cannot recall). There is a great deal of prostitution, many, if not most, children. Supposedly this is illegal but because of the corruption it is not surprising that it has not been eradicated. Women consist of 65% of the work force in all areas including construction but only 20% of women are literate. And there is lots of trafficking of women and children even though this, too, is now illegal. Perhaps of Interest: Banteay Srei.

Phnom Penh

Yet, despite all of this, the residents seem to put on happy faces and appear eager to talk to you (not just accost you – as do many very young children in the countryside who hang on to you trying to get money from you). The PP population is out and about and it appears as if everyone eats out rather than at home. But I don’t know if that is true; this was just an impression.

That same day I needed some relief, so I also went to the Russian Market and enjoyed just wandering around.

The next day my cooking class was cancelled due to the teacher/chef being sick. Instead, I wandered PP and spread my American wealth by buying presents for family and friends in the various NGOs that help street children, disabled persons, and children and girls who exposed to human trafficking.

Having walked through the old french quarter it was easy to imagine PP as it once was in its grander days, under colonization. Today, of course, the huge homes are behind locked (and incredibly gorgeous) gates. Some buildings, though, have become quite derelict. In general, the city is dust-blown and except for the main roads, all roads are dirt and full of holes. There are throngs of motor bikes and some bicycles and certainly a fair share of cars trying to manoeuvre around. Yet the city works. I liked PP more than I cared for Ho Chi Minh City. In fact I actually learned to really like Phnom Penh.

But here is some sobering information on Cambodia – three excerpts from articles in Camnews.org:

Take Cambodia, which ranked at the bottom of a recent regional Transparency International corruption survey. Its government workers pad their paltry, sporadic pay by demanding bribes for everything from birth certificates to school grades. One oft-cited International Monetary Fund working paper argues that paying civil servants twice the wages of manufacturing workers is associated with a reduction in corruption. In Cambodia, civil servants make less than half what a garment worker makes.

Human rights in Cambodia have gone from bad to worse in January, prompting Human Rights Watch to issue a damning report on the Southeast Asian nation’s rights slide. The company eventually provided some former villagers with plots of land at relocation sites, but the desolate sites were 50 km from the capital, without bathrooms, schools, hygiene provisions or even buildings… The Borei Keila residents aren’t the only Cambodians who have felt the government’s wrath this month. Four protesters were shot and injured last week in the small town of Snoul, located on the way to Siem Reap during a land grab dispute.

The United Nations voiced concern Wednesday over Cambodia’s delay in appointing a foreign judge to the Khmer Rouge tribunal, paralyzing probes into two cases strongly opposed by the government. Swiss judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet arrived in Phnom Penh last month as the UN’s choice to replace a German judge who abruptly quit in October over government opposition to further prosecutions linked to the 1975-1979 regime.

Siem Reap Revisited (2012)
I took the 7:30 boat up the Mekong River to Siem reap (a nice 6 hour trip) from Phnom Penh; at one point the river is so wide you cannot see anything but water

Boat Ride to Siem Reap

Siem Reap

To quote from Unesco: Angkor Wat “is one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. It contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th centuries. The influence of Khmer art, as developed at Angkor, was a profound one over much of South-East Asia and played a fundamental role in its distinctive evolution. Khmer architecture evolved largely from that of the Indian subcontinent, from which it soon became clearly distinct as it developed its own special characteristics, some independently evolved and others acquired from neighbouring cultural traditions. The result was a new artistic horizon in oriental art and architecture.”

Siem Reap was as I recalled from my first trip: it has some beautiful areas, especially walking along the treed boulevard by the Siem Reap River. It also has some terribly poor areas on the outskirts of town. The people are friendly, especially the tuk tuk drivers who want your business, of course. Siem Reap still has some charm, and like Phnom Penh you can tell it once had its hey day. Siem Reap is expanding quickly — already obviously more built up since my previous visit, two years earlier, so who knows as I write this post in 2013! There was construction everywhere — new houses and apartments, hotels and resorts sprouting like mushrooms in the surrounding countryside. The tourists are everywhere and I can only imagine that it will get worse over time. It’s good for the locals who have suffered so much over the years but of course many foreigners are taking advantage of the boom, too. As an example, the owners of the guest house I stayed in on this visit are Canadian and I went for dinner at a Khmer resto owned by a French couple. But, for most visitors – I think they think that this is a pulsating place. But like Steve and I did two years ago, I cursed the fact that there were so may tourists; more than 1,000,000 tourists visit this area for Angkor Wat, each year!

BBQ in Siem Reap

My third morning in Siem Reap I heard music in the distance which played all day long. I tried to see what was going on (my guesthouse hosts thought it was probably a wedding) but didn’t find much in the morning. However I stopped by in the late afternoon because clearly some type of event was taking place. I shyly took a couple of photos outside of a tent and then a young woman (30?) invited me to go in and take more. After a conversation with her I discovered that her uncle (age 55) had died and 100 days after the death there is a two-day supper celebration at the person’s home. This woman, Ekbanthida, introduced me to her mother, aunts, and cousins, and insisted that I continue to take photos. I gladly agreed. The celebration was in front of the uncle’s house. At the entrance a man was busy saying something on the microphone, and the tradition is that people donate money and get a little present in exchange. The money goes to the family/relatives of the deceased. I was invited to stay for supper and politely agreed to eat some soup but was actually not feeling well so I ate a bit, and then bowed out. Ekbanthida has her own business selling tourist trinkets at the market and said she is doing well for herself.

100 day celebration in honour of the dead

100 day celebration in honour of the dead

The following day I took a tuk tuk and did the outer reaches of Angkor Wat – areas that Steve and I did not make when we were there two years earlier. I went to Kbal Spean, Banteay Sreay, and Banteay Samre.

Kbal Spean

Banteay Srea

Banteay Samre

The last day in Siem Reap I cycled to Angkor Wat. I learned that the trick to avoiding the throngs of visitors is to go at breakfast time when all the bus tours have taken people back to their hotels for breakfast – this is after the tourists have seen their obligatory sunrise scene over Angkor Wat. I cycled to the wat, wandered for an hour and had the place almost completely to myself. As I left the crowds were beginning to arrive.

Kratie

Munney, one of the young men who worked at the guesthouse I stayed at, took me on a 7-hour long tour of the surrounding area of Kratie (he made more money this way – and I gave him a decent tip when I found out the guesthouse takes money from the $30 he/they charge; I treated him to lunch as well). I saw the fresh water Irrawaddy dolphins, a temple that was destroyed during the Khmer Rouge days and rebuilt in concrete rather than wood (the name has escaped me). I was taken to this ‘resort”– not the case at all but they call it that — where there are small white water rapids and is good for swimming (which I did not do). What really made this trip worthwhile was just driving through the countryside. It was a typical tour but Munney was SO sweet; he treated me to a fruit that is a relative to the coconut but has the texture of a lychee, is the size of a flat plum, and does not seem to have a pit. Best of all, this fruit is not too sweet and there is a lovely juice that you suck out first before eating the flesh. What the fruit is called is beyond me. I seemed to not write names down in my notebook…

Outside Kratie

Outside Kratie (the “resort”)

Outside Kratie

Munney promised to teach me how to drive a motor bike but 1.5 hours later after our return he was still napping. Instead, I walked through the town (full of colonial French-era architecture), spent time at the wet market, and met people on the street who gave me permission to photograph them. This was the beginning of my braving it and asking people directly if they would mind if I snapped some shots. I discovered that it was a nice way to start some conversations with the “locals.”

Kratie

Kratie

Kratie

Kratie

Kratie, I found, is a lively town (for being nowhere, really). It has a long riverfront with food stalls all along. The market is small but active. Too bad it seemed that Kratie was just a stop over for tourists who want to see the dolphins or are heading to/from Laos. I was tempted to stay another day and cycle on the island, Koh Trong, across the water from Kratie but the temperatures were very high as was the humidity and there was no expectation of it cooling down in the near future. I did not have energy for cycling. Unfortunately, in retrospect, I missed that opportunity since I was told that Koh Trong is extremely lush with vegetation and rice paddies, easy to cycle, and not developed – with only a few villages. So, in the end I was like all the other tourists who stay for one or two nights, only.